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Native american culture and spirituality
Native american culture and spirituality
Native american culture and spirituality
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People often feel that their opinions do not matter, that they cannot make a difference. This is untrue, one person does have the ability to change an outcome, halt or finalize a decision, and even build or destroy a culture. In the novel Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko, this is witnessed in the character Auntie, a dominating, selfish woman who will do anything to gain a respectable status in the community. In an attempt to gain acceptance from both Native and Western societies, Auntie metaphorically "kills" her own child which in turn destroys the Native American culture. Auntie has a deep desire for belonging, not only in Western civilization, but in her own Native world as well. She is constantly preoccupied with the image of which she projects to the community, often worrying that the rumors of her family will bring about shame and dishonor. Although the community has far more important issues to deal with, Auntie feels that is necessary to escape the "alleged," judgment that is derived from her sister promiscuous behavior and her brother's affair. Her belief is that if she is acknowledged in Western culture, than her past will cease to follow her. To acquire respect from Western society, Auntie strongly encourages her son, Rocky, to pursue non-traditional ways yet in the process fails to realize that she is pushing him considerably away from his heritage. Rocky is an adolescent that other students would envy; he is intelligent athletic and competitive, a perfect example illustrating the effects of Western culture. Of course his school supports his so called success, but his mother is the real culprit in stripping him of the pride he should posses toward his treasured past. Silko explains, "All that summer, while Josiah and Tayo watched the cattle and the sheep camp, and Robert worked in the fields each day, Rocky read magazines and ran laps at the baseball diamond. Auntie made it clear to everyone that it was all necessary if Rocky were to keep his football scholarship to the University.
It was August 14th, 1791 when the first plantation building was set aflame by black slaves. This was all a part of the Bois Caïman ceremony. (Shen) The Bois Caïman ceremony was a Vodou ceremony led and performed by Dutty Boukman, a Vodou priest. The Bois Caïman ceremony was said to have been a ceremony where the slaves were to get together in Morne-Rouge, and to finalize the planning of the revolution. While the ceremony has become a legend-type story, and it is hard to discern what is real and what isn't, many accounts of that ceremony tell that there were Vodou deities present, animal sacrifices and a raging storm. (Shen) The ceremony, with the celebration surrounding it, was meant to lift the spirits of and give hope to the Haitian people. The Haitians used hope to motivate them, and with much fighting, many fights of which were led by Dutty Boukman, they were able to gain their independence. Of course, some of that hope was taken away when the French told the Haitians that they would only get their independence if they paid the debt of 150 million French Francs to France. But if there were any complications in the fulfillment of the payment, the French would be rescinding their recognition that Haiti was an independent country. (Popkin 152) The Haitians
The novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko follows a young man, Tayo through his journey beginning when he returns home to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation, from World War Two; and is very ill. During the narrative Silko introduces us to Tayo's life before the war, which gives insight to reasons of why Tayo is ill. Through out his illness Tayo goes through many ceremonies both literally and metaphorically to try to cure his ailment. One of the ceremonies that is performed, is lead by Old Ku'oosh, the medicine man, where he performs a cleansing ceremony for someone who has killed someone in battle, even though Tayo doesn't recall killing anyone. However, he adds that this ceremony, which he has been performing for many of the returning war soldiers, has not worked for all of them. He then recommends another medicine man with the tools to cure and perform ceremonies, for the old ceremonies, since the white man had arrived, have not been able to cure the new diseases. Along with the medicine man ceremonies he also goes to American "white" doctors, which also acts as some what of a cleansing for him. In his case vomiting is can also be used as a ceremony for Tayo because he uses it to cleanse his body of the poisons and evil, both physical illness and mental illness. The ceremonies that Tayo goes through whether traditional through a medicine man or contemporary like visits to the psychiatrist and stays in the hospital, all add to his recovery, either through physical or mental cleansing.
The inherent desire to belong to a group is one that is fundamental to human nature. In his article “Evolution and Our Inner Conflict,” Edward O. Wilson writes, “A person’s membership in his group – his tribe – is a large part of his identity.” Wilson explores multilevel group selection and the proclivity for people to define themselves based on their belonging to the group. He goes on to say that people often form these groups with those who look like them and belong to the same culture or ethnic group. In the novels Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko and The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick, the identities of the protagonist are predominantly shaped by the ethnicities and heritages that they identify with. The identity of Tayo, the protagonist of the novel Ceremony is largely shaped by his ethnicity as both a Native American and part white. Tayo’s background leads directly to his own identity as an outsider and is central to the storyline. In the novel The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick, the title character Puttermesser’s identity and subsequently her story is also influenced by her Jewish heritage.
I am writing a film review on the 1976, classic movie Rocky. In this review I will explore the main character Rocky, along with secondary characters Adrian, Pauley, and Mick. I will compare Rocky’s self-concept and self-esteem to the secondary characters. Identify whether the characters are nourishing or noxious individuals. Finally, we will describe how the main character is perceived by other characters.
He is caught by military officers and earns a dishonorable discharge and a one year prison sentence. His sister introduces him to a Jewish girl named Norma, whom he soon falls in love with. Rocky’s trainer, Irving, prompts him to either get married to Norma or leave her because she’...
Rocky, the main character lives with his mother and her boyfriend. Despite his rare condition, he is accepted fully and appreciated unconditionally by his family, including his grandparents and his parent’s friend who enjoy riding motorcycl...
...allowed to reach her American Dream without being frowned upon by others. Materialism, and the fears of judgment, are restrictions for these characters that keep them from reaching their true happiness and American Dreams.
When April first moves in with the Dions, their generosity and love welcome April into their family and although she does not feel like a complete part to their family, she loves them and knows that is was loved back. During her time with them, her confidence begins to build. The Dions treat her just as they would their own children and celebrate her achievements with recognition and praise. April feels as an equal to other children and believes she has value which she later struggles with. She explains her confidence when, after the Dions celebrate her good grades she says, “For an eight year-old, I had a very large head for a while”(22). By saying this, April is identifying the fact that she knows she had high confidence in her self but after a while, that changed. Following this however, April’s life changes and her pride and self assurance begins to diminish. When April is moved to a second foster family the Derosiers, their neglect and abuse towards her cause her to feel awful about herself and her heritage. The family make April and later her sister Cheryl do all the chores, they beat them and they verbally abuse them with racist names and hurtful stories about their parents’ alcohol problems. This family’s treatment towards April and her sister only make her more ashamed and self conscious about her Metis background which has a lasting effect on her life as an adult. April’s phsycological well-being experiences many more difficulties as her life progresses that cause her self-esteem and identity to struggel due to society’s views and treatment of Metis women and
...who is the same age, has a job, and getting married. She is also concerned her son will not be a credit to society. Krebs only withdraws more because of his mother. The father in the story is distant and a stock character. He is there but not an influence on his son’s life and only spoken of though the mother and her comments. Krebs has a sister named Helen in the story, she likes baseball, and he is very fond of her. She is a stock character and there as support to the family environment and setting of the story.
Afterwards, an important plot development occurs, previously Aunty Bundle refuses to accept Amrith’s relatives but gives in upon being convinced by Uncle Lucky showing that the relationship of individuals from opposing families can unite the two as a whole.
Social Ritual is like a bridge to transform the human behavior from the irrational to the rational. According to Preston Blier, “Ritual serves to some extent as a means of both heightening the differences between the ‘ordinary’ and the ‘strange’ and helping to resolve inherent contradictions between the two.” So, ritual makes people believe that their behavior has a specific meaning, even if it is hard to understand by other cultures. That also explain that the Louvre still remain the pavilions around the corners, even if the pavilions already lost the original function on it. Moreover, some of elements of traditional chateau also inherited by the Louvre but those elements lost their practical functions in the wars.
The colonization of civilizations has changed the world’s history forever. From the French, Spaniard, and down to the English, have changed cultures, traditions, religions, and livelihoods of other societies. The Native Americans, for example, were one of the many civilizations that were conquered by the English. The result was their ways of life based on nature changed into the more “civilized” ways of the colonists of the English people. Many Native Americans have lost their old ways and were pulled into the new “civilized” ways. Today only a small amount of Native American nations or tribes exist in remote areas surviving following their traditions. In the book Ceremony, a story of a man named Tayo, did not know himself and the world around him but in the end found out and opened his eyes to the truth. However the Ceremony’s main message is related not only to one man but also to everything and everyone in the world. It is a book with the message that the realization of oneself will open the eyes to see what is truth and false which will consequently turn to freedom.
There are traditions and or rituals that we participate in year after year, even though we have forgotten what the meaning is or where it has come from. Every one of us has experienced some type of ritual or tradition in some form or fashion. Wedding and marriage rituals and traditions also fall true to this. There are different cultures that celebrate in different ways all over the world. There is a tradition for Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and South America, North America and even Caribbean traditions and Oceania traditions. I suppose there is a tradition or ritual for every corner of our world and for every tribe. I have even seen weddings for animals. Everyone seems to be getting into a ceremony! Within all of these different ceremonies, traditions and rituals have changed over the years. To go back hundreds of years ago, some couples did not even know each other when they were to be married, or paired up by the tribes or royal parents to choose the couple that would best suite the family. Just imagine not even meeting the one that you are supposed to marry and spend the rest of your life with until the day of the ceremony. These traditions were kept sacred and carried out just because that is the way that it has always been done. Most wedding ceremonies would consist of the same rituals and traditions that would be carried on down from generations. Most people doesn’t even know what most of the traditions mean. Unfortunately with time, and more modern ways, these rituals are being changed.
Is it possible to belong when told otherwise by the ones who matter the most? Margot is emotionally excluded from the Tennenbaum family, as she deprived of attention by the father figure in her life, who frequently introduces her to others as his “adopted daughter, Margot Tennenbaum”. Royal creates a psychological barrier between Margot and the rest of the family, merely by refusing t...
One main theme which I believe that this book repeats is the idea that people will blindly follow long standing traditions simply because it is "expected." For instance, Tante Atie felt obligated to care of her mother. This was the tradition for the oldest women of the family, in Haiti. Tante Atie was obviousely resentful of this duty, but she felt that it was her obligation as a part of that family. Sophie's mother, on the other hand, was free from this tradition and able to move for New York. Sophie's mother was also tormented by the fact that her mother blindely followed the obligations taught to her. It is the tradition in Haiti, that by the time a girl hits puberty, she is to be ritualistically "tested" for her purity. These tests were obliviousely psychologically damaging for the girls, but no one ever questioned the tests. It was simply tradition. Sophie's mother was only saved from having this test done because she was raped, which she names as being "the only good thing which came from my being raped." Tante Atie was said to have screamed in protest to this purity test. Yet, when Sophie came of age, her mother still preformed these tests on her out of tradition, even though she was aware of how mentally damaging these tests were on young women. I realize that every culture has its own traditions which seem strange to outside cultures. For instance, the book mentions a women from Ethiopia who is in Sex therapy because of the mutalating ritual which was performed on her by her elders. I just feel that when it comes to rituals and traditions such as these, it should not be a matter of whether it is a tradition or not, but whether it is morally and ethically exceptable. I do not understand how any mother could possibly do anything damaging or painful to their child. The books explaination for preserving the girls purity is so that when the girl marries, her family can save face by having the daughter be pure. I feel that these tests only make it extremely clear to the young women that they are not trusted to do the right thing or to tell the